31
Aug, 2024

2024 Election Slate

If you are a member of NYC ACM SIGGRAPH you can expect a ballot for this years elections in your mailbox shortly. Here are the candidates you will find on the ballot

Michael Hosenfeld

Candidate for President

Bio

Michael Hosenfeld is a Visual Effects Supervisor for film and TV, as well as an Associate Professor of Digital Arts & Design at New York Institute of Technology. Based on his education in Industrial Design, he joined the VFX industry in the mid 90s, worked on feature films in the German branch of Toronto-based c.o.r.e. Digital pictures, and eventually moved to NYC to teach at New York University, the Center for Advanced Digital Applications and later at New York Institute of Technology. He joined the Board of Directors of NYC ACM SIGGRAPH in 2003, and also served as its President from 2007-2024.

Statement

Serving on the board of directors since 2003, and presently its President, I understand my role as a facilitators for our board and our members to develop new ideas for events that reflect the ever changing variety of computer graphics applications and digital design in our community. To support our board in its efforts to create new and exciting events, but also to increase the involvement of our community it is crucial to further develop our outreach and the communication with our professional and academic partners. NYC ACM SIGGRAPH has developed from an interest group catering computer graphics and most famously animation to a much more diverse platform for digital designers working in many creative industries that have many technologies and creative processes in common. Correspondingly, it is our goal bringing together studios, professionals, students and academics sharing their interests and their experience in the latest technologies andvtheir creative application.

Wobbe F. Koning

Candidate for Treasurer

Bio

As associate professor I head the animation program at Monmouth University in New Jersey. I received a BFA from the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam and a MFA in Art and Technology from the Ohio State University. I have been an active member of ACM SIGGRAPH ever since I was a student volunteer back in 1998 and am currently the Education Committee webmaster. As an independent digital artist I created many animations that have been shown at numerous festivals. My latest work are VR Experiences and (3D printed) stop motion animations.

Statement

I joined NYC ACM SIGGRAPH when I moved to the NYC area in 2005 and became a member of the board shortly thereafter. ACM SIGGRAPH has played an important role in shaping my career as a digital artist. Giving others the opportunity I had to benefit from the organization is an important motivation behind my involvement both in the chapter and at the national level.
I have been serving as treasurer for a while now. The chapter is in currently good shape financially and I intend to keep it that way. I am precise, conscientious and willing to continue to manage the chapter’s finances.
I have been acting as web-master for as long as I’ve been with the chapter. Our MetroCAF festival is one of the events I am involved in and whenever I can I like to show new work at BYOA.

Patty K. Wongpakdee

Candidate for Director At Large

Bio

I am a New York City based graphic artist and a tenured associate professor of graphic design at New York Institute of Technology, New York. For over 15 years, I have been committed to providing students with a strong fundamental knowledge of industry standards while encouraging creative thinking and problem solving skills.

I am passionate about the up-cycling objective. Art Without Waste: 500 Upcycle & Earth-Friendly Designs, is a book (Rockport Publisher) where I curated and showcased cutting-edge designers, illustrators and artists from around the world, whose work often incorporates eco-friendly principles such as up-cycling, with sustainability as a central goal of their work.

I’m also a recipient of the In-house Design Award from Graphic Design USA. The award recognizes her pro-bono graphic design work for the American Cancer Society, New York City. Her art and design work has been shown in several juried exhibitions in traditional and online galleries, various print and digital publications.

Statement

As a professor, I have encouraged creative thinking and problem-solving skills to my students while providing a fundamental knowledge of industry standards and expectations. The events produced by NYC ACM SIGGRAPH has permitted students a unique glimpse into various creative careers; allowing the attendees to learn from industry leaders and understand how they can participate in the ever-changing landscape of digital art and design. Human interaction with digital art and design has become more intertwined through unique ways of mixing different types of media. The combination of art and technology with the inclusion of science and engineering has reshaped the visual communication experience by engaging the viewer in a multi-dimensional manner that is unique to each observer/user. My interest lies within multi-disciplinary collaboration that motivates the re-imagination of digital art and design projects with emphasis on eco-friendly designs that limits environmental impact. As an educator and visual communicator, I also believe in the organization’s mission to “foster the synthesis of art and technology while promoting and educating …innovative ideas.” As a board member, I would assist NYC ACM SIGGRAPH with their continued efforts to provide noteworthy events to an interested community. I would like to help plan, coordinate and work with various designers, artists, scientists and technology experts to help produce events that are leading edge with stimulating discussions within the digital arts and design industry. Thank you and I hope to be considered for a position as a board member of NYC ACM SIGGRAPH.

21
Sep, 2023

Industry Spotlight: Free Event

For the last three and a half years, we’ve been holding almost all of our events virtually. We were able to re-start our Bring Your Own Animation (BYOA) event in person this previous May and we’re happy to report people are starting to return in larger numbers. But we have not been able to run any of our large, annual events. Until now.

On Thursday, October 19 at 7:00pm, we will be bringing back our very popular Industry Spotlight event. We are also very excited to be hosting this event at FIT, with the support of the FIT Department of Illustration and Interactive Media. It has been almost five years since our last activity at FIT so it is nice to be back.

We normally charge for our events because there are always costs associated with our activities. However, for our first large event since the pandemic struck in March of 2020, we are going to make Industry Spotlight a free event as a way to encourage as many people as possible from the NYC-metropolitan area to attend. All we will be asking for is an RSVP from anyone that would like to attend. If you do not RSVP, we cannot guarantee admission to the event. The form to RSVP will be available on our web site and our Facebook page this week.

Industry Spotlight is always a fun event and a great way for the community to get together. We hope that after three and a half years, you’ll be able to join us on Thursday, October 19, 2023, at 7:00pm.

23
Jul, 2019

2019 Election Candidates

The Elections for 2019 – 2021 are upon us. If you are a current NYC ACM SIGGRAPH member you can expect a ballot in the mail soon. Ballots need to returned by August 31 (postmarked) to be counted.

Here are the nominees:

Scott Lang, Candidate for Vice-President

Bio – I have served as NYC ACM SIGGRAPH Vice-Chair for the last eight years. My main responsibility in this role is to organize the chapter’s events calendar. I have also co-chaired MetroCAF during this time and will be doing so again for 2019. I have also been involved with ACM SIGGRAPH as Executive Producer for the ACM SIGGRAPH SCOOP Team and for the ACM SIGGRAPH YouTube channel. When not volunteering for ACM SIGGRAPH, I work as the Video Production / Interactive Design Instructor at the Bergen County Academies, a magnet high school in northern New Jersey.

Statement – I have been involved with NYC ACM SIGGRAPH for three decades now and I continue to volunteer because I appreciate the opportunity to give back to a community that means a great deal to me. During my time as Vice-Chair I have been able to meet and work with a wide variety of people from all areas of the computer graphics and interactive techniques fields. Providing others with a platform to share and discuss their views, ideas, successes and failures is essential to the mission of NYC ACM SIGGRAPH. Allowing our members the chance to interact with those they might not otherwise come in contact helps lead to greater connections, larger networks, and more exchanges within the NYC-area digital media community.

We have had great success with a number of our existing events – BYOA, Industry Spotlight, MetroCAF – so those are terrific vehicles for us to build upon. Our partnerships with other groups such as Women In Animation have also been very positive so we’ll continue to grow those. However, I’d also like to see if we can plan more intimate events that give our members even greater access to area experts. One idea is a regularly scheduled panel held each month, featuring 3 – 4 speakers from different focus areas, which would allow for greater discussion amongst the panelists and our members. We are also working to bring back our very popular Member-Only Site Visits.

With your support, I look forward to serving as Vice-Chair for another two years. Thank you.

Mark Reynolds, Candidate for Secretary

Bio – Mark Reynolds is a freelance CG generalist whose VFX/compositing, 3D, and animation work has appeared on screens large, small, live, and virtual. He has served on the NYC ACM SIGGRAPH Board of Directors since 2014, as Secretary since 2016, and was co-chair of the 2015 and 2016 MetroCAFs.

Statement – During my time on NYC ACM SIGGRAPH’s Board of Directors (since 2014, and as Secretary since 2016), I have assisted in organizing and publicizing events, focusing on expanding our chapter’s network of friends and associates. This has included restructuring our monthly Bring Your Own Animation to include guest studio presenters (leading to dramatic growth in attendance); spearheading last year’s projections design panel; and working to connect our chapter with other likeminded local groups and communities. I have also stuffed my share of envelopes, worked the doors at events, and other such tasks that are essential to ensuring that NYC ACM SIGGRAPH remains a viable, dynamic machine.

So that’s the past, what about the future? Aside from making sure the envelopes continue to be stuffed and the e-mails sent, I would love to see us continue to make inroads to other local groups of related interests, including coders, app and software developers, and fine artists. Our chapter is on an exciting upward trajectory with the events we are hosting and the people with whom we are working, and I would like aid in this continued growth and help create new opportunities for NYC-area practitioners of the dark magick that is CG.

Danesh Taraporevala, Candidate for Director at Large

Bio – Hello!

My name is Danesh Taraporevala. I am a 3D artist available for freelance in New York. I have been freelancing around the city at Brand New School, Method, Artjail, Ntropic, The Molecule, R/GA, Sid Lee, Psyop, Charlex, Gravity (Formerly Rhino FX), The Napoleon Group, Tag Creative, Fake Love, Framestore, Suspect, TBWA and The Productive Studios.

My best skills are in Modeling, Texturing, Animation, Lighting in Arnold and Redshift and 3D layouts but I am also well versed in other mediums of 3D production as well.

You can find my work on http://www.3danesh.com/.

Statement – I have been a board member since 2017. I have actively participated in all activities related to NYC ACM SIGGRAPH. I along with other board members have been trying to grow our BYOA event bigger and bigger every year. We actively reach out to studios to see if they would join us as guests for every BYOA meet.

Besides BYOA I have also made sure I am present at every event and hope to continue to grow and serve the members better.

Tiffany Yu, Candidate for Director at Large

Bio – I’m an 2D/3D artist with special interest in Environment design. I’d love to be a part of the AMC SIGGRAPH New York chapter serving the community and contribute anyway I can.

Statement – I’d love to be a part of the community with fellow art lovers and enthusiasts. I would like to reach out to more audience and expose different aspects of arts and designs, so we all can learn, connect and grow a bigger better community.